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$1 million in funding announced to promote NWT women in leadership

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Caroline Cochrane, along side MP Micheal McLeod announced over $1 million in funding from the Government of Canada for advancing women in leadership roles. A little under half of that will be going to the NWT, supporting the GNWT Campaign School for Women. Brett McGarry / NNSL photo
MLA Caroline Cochrane and MP Michael McLeod announced over $1 million in funding from the Government of Canada for advancing women in leadership roles. A little under half of that will be going to the NWT, supporting the Status of Women Council of the NWT's campaign school initiative. 
Brett McGarry/NNSL photo

Territorial MP Michael McLeod and Caroline Cochrane, MLA for Range Lake and Minister for Women and Gender Equality, announced over $1 million in federal funding that will be used towards the empowerment of women and girls in the North.

The announcement was made Aug. 8 in the Great Hall of the legislative assembly.

The Government of the Northwest Territories will receive $525,000 from the federal government, which in addition to their own contribution of $125,000, will fund a public information campaign and an updated curriculum for the Status of Women Council of the NWT's campaign school initiative.

The Government of Nunavut will receive $600,000 to create a Women and Girls Leadership and Governance Forum to develop leadership skills for women and girls.

“We can achieve our common goals by advancing equality and we must all work together at all levels of government,” said McLeod. “Our government heard the call and today we're responding.”

In 2015 members of the NWT Legislative Assembly came together to develop a mandate in the GNWT to support initiatives designed to increase the participation of women in politics.

“Over the past four years we've worked to meet with these commitments," said Cochrane.
Multiple non-profit and non-governmental organizations were consulted to create the GNWT's campaign school for women, which offers resources and guidance for women who are looking to run for political office.

The new funding will help support the expansion of the campaign school.

Currently only two out of 19 seats in the legislative assembly are held by women, Cochrane and Julie Green, MLA for Yellowknife Centre.

However, during the last round of municipal elections, Hay River, Fort Smith, Inuvik and Yellowknife all elected female mayors.

“There is still much work to do to make women's equality a permanent feature in politics in the Northwest Territories,” said Cochrane.

“Women have been waiting for centuries,” she continued. “Women have been held back for many years. Women have been told that, in general, we should be pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen. That doesn't work for a lot of us, so we're moving forward.”